Surgical navigation systems, also known as computer assisted surgery systems and image guided surgery systems, aid surgeons in locating patient anatomical structures, guiding surgical instruments, and implanting medical devices with a high degree of accuracy. Surgical navigation has been compared to a global positioning system that aids vehicle operators to navigate the earth. A surgical navigation system typically includes a computer, a tracking system, and patient anatomical information. The patient anatomical information can be obtained by using an imaging mode such as fluoroscopy, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computer tomography (CT) or by simply defining the location of patient anatomy with the surgical navigation system. Surgical navigation systems can be used for a wide variety of surgeries to improve patient outcomes.
To successfully implant a medical device, surgical navigation systems often employ various forms of computing technology, as well as utilize intelligent instruments, digital touch devices, and advanced 3-D visualization software programs. All of these components enable surgeons to perform a wide variety of standard and minimally invasive surgical procedures and techniques. Moreover, these systems allow surgeons to more accurately plan, track and navigate the placement of instruments and. implants relative to a patient's body, as well as conduct preoperative and intra-operative body imaging.
To accomplish the accurate planning, tracking and navigation of surgical instruments, tools and/or medical devices during a surgical procedure utilizing surgical navigation, surgeons often couple “tracking arrays” to the surgical components. These tracking arrays allow the surgeons to track the physical location of these surgical components, as well as the patient's bones during the surgery. By knowing the physical location of the tracking array, software associated with the tracking system can accurately calculate the position of the tracked component relative to a surgical plan image.
It is known to use surgical navigation instruments to measure the size and general contour of a bone before selecting and/or manufacturing a prosthetic implant. This process allows the surgeon to choose a prosthetic component that generally resembles the shape and size of the patient's anatomy, thereby achieving a more customized fit during the implantation process. Despite such customization efforts, most orthopaedic procedures still require the use of adjustable components or guides during the surgical procedure, particularly as such instruments are needed to fit the prosthetic components to the patient's anatomy. However, this process is time consuming, as well as subject to error during the placement and registration of the surgical components. As such, it would be desirable to improve this process to reduce surgery time and improve prosthetic fit and/or function.